nah i didnt install it on the usb drive... from what i understand it is a stand alone version. i have the regular installed version on my laptop and from what i can tell my portable version is an exact copy. it does not include illustrator... atleast i dont think so. i dont know how the crackers did it... but basically it runs straight off of my usb drive and i can pop it into any PC wherever i am at and open it... and it runs smoothly. the total file size on the usb drive is like 250mb. i have a 16gig usb drive so space isnt an issue.... its convienent for editing photos and stuff on the fly if i am away from my laptop.... its very handy.